Dancing Again

This last week, I dusted off my dance shoes and have been practicing again.  I've missed dancing and it's been fun to practice some of the old routines. 

A few weeks ago, in a moment of weakness, I may have signed up to perform in our ward talent show. Turns out that I'm one of 13 acts.  One of only 2 dance numbers, the other being a group of youth.  Um, perhaps this isn't the best idea.  

Why am I doing this?  Well, I've wondered that too. Rationalized ways to get out of it (all of them good reasons, by the way), asked some friends what they thought (all of them thought I'd be wearing a curly wig, um, gross), worried what people will think about a 29 year old mom dancing (sans wig, I assure you).

And then I threw them all out the window and decided to go through with it.  I spent years dancing and isn't it so fun to have a place to perform.  

At one of my meetings this week, someone said, "are you really dancing?"  Of course. Life is about putting yourself out there.  Every once in a while I need to do things that scare me, that pull me out of my comfort zone.  Now this is definitely one of them.  

If your in the area, you should come out and watch.  It's at 6:30 on Saturday at our church house on Sydenstricker.  Depending on how it all turns out (I mean, it could end in embarrassment), you can enjoy the performance or laugh with me afterward, "what was that old mom doing dancing?" 

The New Moms

We all went to the last of the first birthdays yesterday.

Soon after Leo was born, I was feeling overwhelming feelings caring for a newborn while living thousands of miles from the people that mattered most to us.  It was at this crucial point in my life that I started attending the New Mom Group put on through our local hospital system.

Every Monday, Leo and I would go down and meet new moms and babies and connect through our common challenges.  It was a real turning point in helping me to be a happy mom.  Having communities of people are critical to my happiness.

For months we attended the group and met many wonderful people.  When Leo was a year, I knew it was time to move on to another activity.  From that group, I made friends with a collection of moms. 
We get together often and have watched our babes go from just a few months old to running and playing.  We've helped each other through every imaginable first year challenge. 

The last one of our group will turn one this week.  We went to his birthday on Saturday.  We celebrated Jasper turning a year and his mom, because I think that the first birthday is just as much about the baby as it is the mom. Each of our babes is officially a toddler and we've watched them grow up together.

The babes, ages ago.

The babes on Leo's first birthday

The moms at girls night out.

You Know You Have A Toddler At Home....

....when his curiosity is everywhere.   We're still working on the cleaning up part of curiosity. 

 

We have some visitors coming into town next week and we are so excited.  I decided to lump spring cleaning into the preparations, which means I've been cleaning for a week.  And then I have a little helper come along and explore.  If he wasn't so cute...

 Thanks to my friend, Amanda, for the last two photos of Leo.

The Right Place At the Right Time

My cutest boy.

Do you ever have those moments when you feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be?  The timing is right and you know in your gut that you're doing the right thing?  Those moments are few but when I experience one, it's magical. 

There are thousands of cherry blossom trees around here.  It is my favorite time of year.  The heart of the trees are at the Tidal Basin in DC.  There are blossoms everywhere you look.  There is one day every year that is the peak, when the trees are in full bloom.  Everything comes together and for that one moment, everything is in bloom.  Immediately afterward, the flowers will begin to fall and the season of blossoms will end.  It's in that one perfect moment when everything comes together.

  

One of those moments was when I decided to go back to grad school.  Having been laid off from my job (darn recession), I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.  When I made the decision to go back in Instructional Design, it's like it all came together.  Within less than a week I had two jobs that were great experiences (one which I kept all throughout school).  It came together to be one of my best experiences.

We went in to see the blossoms on Sunday before conference started.  It was beautiful but more than half of the blossoms hadn't bloomed yet.  I just knew that the potential hadn't been reached yet.  

Check out all of those unopened blooms, and the Washington Memorial in the background.

 We trekked in again to see the blossoms yesterday.  It was so worth it.  The blooms were at their peak and it was incredibly beautiful.

Whatcha Watching?

Is it just me or is there absolutely nothing to watch on TV lately?  I admit I'm a bit of a TV watcher.  It's relaxing.  Heb's relaxes to video games or cleaning (who is that guy?) and I like to relax to a good show.  But where are they all?

I just can't get into crime dramas - back when I lived here as a single, my roommates would watch Law and Order 24 hours a day.  Yes, it is playing on some channel ALL the time.  I don't really want to see dead bodies, they creep me out.  I'm not one to watch celebrities dance or dive or do anything, really.  Cut these things out and you really are limited as to what to watch.

This stems back to the news that one of my favorite shows got cancelled.  Have you ever watched Drop Dead Diva?  Surprisingly good. It was one of my dad's favorites too. 

So dear readers, what are you watching?  I have netflix too.  What show do you get excited to watch every week?

Watching Kites....

Us, kites and the Washington Memorial.

We went into the Kite Festival in DC on the National Mall on Saturday.   I can hardly remember the last time I flew a kite.  Isn't that something that I could have fit into my life even once a year?  Well, the grad school years were pretty busy so I'm not surprised I didn't go then.  I have to say though, that having Leo around sure has changed the way we do things around here.

I find myself doing small fun things like going to the park or stopping to smell some flowers.  We went to a farm and saw chickens today.  We watched those chickens for a good 10 minutes.  Those things that I never seemed to have time for are made worthwhile or even exciting through the eyes of our Leo. 

Before, I was always too busy chasing this or that to pay attention to a dog next door or a bird on the window sill.  These are what life is made up of now.  These little moments as I watch Leo point or concentrate hard.  This is what it's all about. 

It's a hassle to haul a toddler into the city but watching him point at the kites made it all worth it.  Oh, and good company helps too.  Glad our friends Kelly, Martin and Noah could join us.

I hope I never forget to fly a kite, even when Leo is all grown up.

Happy Easter!